The C4NM Jam Session that Wasn’t

Tim Perkis, Darren Johnston, Larry Ochs, and Madalyn Merkey at C4NM (from the YouTube video of their performance)

Last night the Center for New Music (C4NM) streamed a program of quartet improvisations involving a relatively unique combination of performers. Trumpeter Darren Johnston and ROVA saxophonist Larry Ochs were joined by two performers working solely with electronic gear: Madalyn Merkey and Tim Perkis. Both of them sat before tables of equipment, each with a laptop as part of the array. One could tell from the breaks in the video signal that the individual pieces had been recorded separately. The streaming of the resulting video had originally been scheduled for about a month ago, suggesting that there were delays in the recording schedule.

Calling the performances “quartet improvisations” turned out to be a bit of a stretch. Both Merkey and Perkis appeared to be intently glued to the gear on their respective tables, making eye contact only with the equipment itself. Johnson and Ochs seemed aware of each other. Nevertheless, it appeared as if each was totally focused on his respective instrument. More often than not, that focus amounted to minimal gestures. There was also some sense that either Merkey or Perkis (or both) had samples of the sounds of both Johnson’s trumpet and one of Ochs’ saxophones (if not both of the two that he played), leading to the illusion that one of the instrumentalists was playing without bringing his instrument to his mouth.

The entire performance lasted for about an hour, and the video has been archived on the C4NM YouTube channel. However, the overall sense of four musicians playing as individuals in the same place at the same time could not sustain interest over that long a duration. Listeners may find more satisfaction in sampling the archived video, rather than trying to reproduce the entire experience.